1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system and a method for determining (or specifying) feature based programming for an engine controller module.
2. Background Art
Internal combustion engines, and in particular, compression ignition (or diesel) engines have a wide variety of applications including passenger vehicles, marine vessels, earth-moving and construction equipment, stationary generators, and on-highway trucks, among others. Electronic engine control (or controller) modules (ECMs) (or powertrain control modules, PCMs) having feature based programming (i.e., parameter sets) provide a wide range of flexibility in tailoring engine performance to a particular application (e.g., installation, market, etc.) without significant changes to engine hardware. For example, engines having similar hardware may be running a generator to cool a refrigerated truck, driving a pump on a fire engine, powering hydraulics for a crane or construction equipment, powering on-highway trucks, etc. and may depend on a particular parameter set to be implemented to meet the design criteria of the particular application. The ECM typically reads the engine and vehicle (or system where the engine is installed) inputs, sensors and switches, determines (e.g., calculates) injector firing and duration, and fires injectors at appropriate times.
Engines and/or ECMs that are configured to control the respective engines are typically manufactured, sold, serviced (or maintained), leased, rented, etc. by a vendor. The vendor generally sells the engines and ECMs having manually specified parameter sets, and interfaces with the customers (or end users) through distributors and dealers although some direct customer sales and service are performed.
In many typical conventional systems and methods of determining the ECM parameter set that is implemented in a particular application, the user configuring the engine either selects a parameter set based on prior experience or, alternatively, relies on the engineering descriptions in an ECM vendor business system, or contacts vendor customer service support personnel for assistance. Some conventional selection systems provide the customer flexibility through selectable parameters using a manual selection system or process. A worksheet is typically generated to guide the user through the parameters that can be specified corresponding to the respective group. That worksheet is then submitted to the ECM vendor customer service support personnel such as a Sales Engineering Group and an Application Engineering Group to determine what is believed to be the best parameter set to fit the needs of the customer. The customer may have to interface with (e.g., search, enter user information, choose parameters, etc.) three or possibly more vendor business systems to determine which ECM or group of ECMs is appropriate to meet the design criteria of a particular application.
There typically are different levels of parameter modification which can further complicate the manual selection system. Some of the parameters can be changed by a customer using handheld service tools or by using a computer. An ECM vendor distributor can change some of the parameters using a reprogramming station (or computer system), and the vendor Technical Service can change other parameters. The vendor Application Engineering generally controls some of the parameters (i.e., some of the ECM parameters can not be modified by the user, distributor or dealer).
Thus, there can be many parameter sets available from the vendor that can meet the design criteria of a variety of particular applications. For example, there are parameter set groups available specifically for on-highway trucks, cranes, air compressors, aircraft jet starters, underground mining equipment, buses, and so on. Unfortunately, even with parameter set groups available for specific applications, many times a customer is only offered the most common of the parameter sets. The considerable flexibility in customer applications can generate a proliferation of parameter sets available for specific applications. Configuring a parameter set while attempting to interpret the differences between the parameter set groups without the assistance of the vendor Application Engineering personnel can be a very difficult task for the customer, dealer, or distributor.
As such, conventional systems and methods of determining the appropriate ECM parameter set (or group of parameter sets) to meet customer requirements for a particular application are substantially manual tasks with several instances of human intervention that can be time consuming, frustrating, expensive for an ECM vendor to provide, and can result in an improper choice of parameter set.
Thus, there exists a need for an improved system and method for determining an engine controller module (ECM) parameter set. In one example, the improved system and method for determining an engine controller module parameter set of the present invention may assist dealers, distributors and customers with the selection of appropriate parameter sets to find the closest match based on customer identified (or specified) criteria, thus saving time, reducing the likelihood of improper selection, improving customer satisfaction, and reducing or eliminating reprogramming. Such an improved system and method may provide the user a single interface (e.g., an extranet site) that performs the tasks of three different business systems (e.g., systems that provide user information, searches, determination of controller group, parameter selection, etc.). The improved system and method of the present invention may be used by a vendor representative to assist ECM distributors and customers to determine appropriate parameter sets, manage existing parameter set groups, eliminate duplication of parameter set groups, and facilitate the release (i.e., implementation) of new parameter sets.